Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Blast Off! Rockets, Robots, Ray Guns, and Rarities from the Golden Age of Space Toys by S. Mark Young, Steve Duin, Mike Richardson, Harlan Ellison ISBN: 1-56971-576-9 Publisher: Dark Horse Comics Pub. Date: 07 November, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.8 (20 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: You'll love this book.
Comment: Blast Off! is a fun and fascinating read for any fan of science fiction, space toys, or comic books. It's a beautiful coffee table-sized book with sexy images of robots, ray guns, and toys of all types that make you feel nostalgic even if you don't remember these toys from the first time around.
This book offers a history of "in the know" type stories about specific toys and the personalities who created and purchased them. There's the Buck Rogers XZ-31 rocket pistol that led Macy's and Gimbels into their most vicious price war ever, dropping prices by the hour to support the most successful toy promotion the world had ever seen. And there's the collector Bob Lesser who pays double the sticker price to win dealer loyalty. And there's a never-been-published story of the untimely death of Flash Gordon creator Alex Raymond. Plus the authors offer insight into how toys have affected history, entertainment, and the space program.
If you're a fan of Buck Rogers like I am, you should also check out Blast Off! author S. Mark Young's interviews with Erin Grey in Filmfax (Oct/Nov 2002 and Feb/Mar 2003) for a sensitive rendering of a sensational story.
Rating: 5
Summary: This Book Has it All
Comment: Blast Off! does what other collector's books only pretend to do. Collector books usually center around value guides, and pass themselves off as glorified shopping lists for toy shows and antique malls. Other books forego any knowledge of the subject whatsoever, and go with photographic essays of the nostalgia craze. A third sort of book tells long stories about growing up in some bygone era. All three sorts of books have, understandably a small readership and limited popular appeal.
The authors of Blast Off!, on the other hand, did the hard work of writing a real book, somehow combining it with the best photos and graphics I've seen in a collector's book, and sprinkling in enough anecdotes and oral histories to keep it interesting. This book is a major effort from an accomplished team: a knowledgeable collector, a lively writer, and an avid fan and history buff--the last being Mike Richardson, publisher of Dark Horse comics and owner of the Things from Another World sci-fi comic shops.
Blast Off! launches itself as an overview/ intro to the golden age of space toys, but its appeal is really wider than that. This is a book collectors will want, not simply to locate market values for haggling at the junk shop, but to remind them what they like about their hobby. Beautiful and imaginative graphics evoke the promise and wonder of the space age, but the book is so lively and informative I had to read it twice: once to read the captions and look at the pictures, and again just enjoying the text.
It's impossible to overstate how great this book is. The photographs are incredibly clear and bright, and the subject matter is drawn from endlessly rich collections. Books like this tend to fall through the cracks--not really appealing to the general reader, and yet not in-depth enough for the collector. But a reader from the first category who casually glances at this book may find a new interest, and seasoned collectors may find rarities they didn't know existed. Every era has volumes that define it; for the space age, that would be Blast Off!
Rating: 5
Summary: a rare gem
Comment: More than merely a definitive catalogue of the subject, Blast Off is a socio-historical journey. Toys offer provide the prism through which the authors examine fascinating sociological phenomenon. Make no mistake this is the definitive book for this topic, but it becomes a tour de force by examining the history, economics, and sociology implied by these fascinating products from our recent past.
 |
Title: Robots (TASCHEN Icons Series) by Teruhisa Kitahar, Yukio Shimizu, Teruhisa Kitahara ISBN: 3822855669 Publisher: TASCHEN America Llc Pub. Date: 15 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
 |
Title: Ray Gun by Eugene W. Metcalf, Frank Maresca, Charles Bechtold ISBN: 1584180048 Publisher: Fotofolio Pub. Date: 29 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
 |
Title: Future Perfect by Jim Heimann, Joe Heimann ISBN: 3822815667 Publisher: TASCHEN America Llc Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $9.99 |
 |
Title: Vintage Toys: Robots and Space Toys by Jim Bunte, Dave Hallman, Heinz Mueller ISBN: 158221025X Publisher: Antique Trader Pub. Date: March, 2000 List Price(USD): $26.95 |
 |
Title: Space Toys Of The 60's by James H. Gillam ISBN: 1896522378 Publisher: Collectors Guide Publishing, Inc. Pub. Date: 06 October, 1999 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
